Max Verstappen weakness identified by Red Bull guru as F1 champion set challenge

18 December 2023 , 12:05

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Max Verstappen weakness identified by Red Bull guru as F1 champion set challenge

Red Bull chief Helmut Marko has laid down the gauntlet to Max Verstappen despite the Dutchman dominating the 2023 F1 season.

The title race was rendered a non-event as Verstappen seared to a third straight championship crown. Out of the 22 Grand Prix races, he took the chequered flag in 19 of them, and finished a record-breaking 290 points clear of teammate Sergio Perez in the drivers' standings.

The 26-year-old is already widely perceived as the clear favourite to prevail again in 2024. But despite the gap between Verstappen and the rest, there was no sign of complacency from the man himself last season, frequently getting heated with team members over radio and maintaining his bullish ways on the track.

And now Red Bull advisor Marko has challenged him to address his temperament. And ominously for his rivals, the Austrian believes Verstappen is yet to reach his peak and could improve further with a slight change in mentality.

“Here and there he gets a little impatient when the car is not exactly to his liking," he told Sky Germany, when pressed on how the champion can improve. “In the race though, he drives confidently and no longer fights when it’s not necessary.

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"He becomes even faster and takes more care of the material. That gives him an advantage again. I would never have thought it possible, so I don’t see any limits to the top.”

Helmut Marko has challenged Max Verstappen (Mark Thompson/Getty Images)

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And Marko also implied Verstappen will stop at nothing in his quest to stay at the top of the sport, praising the way he applies his vehicle. “It’s his absolute will to win, he can go to the limit in every situation," he added. "He does that with aplomb and ease.

“He has made a very decisive step in tyre management. He can drive at the limit without pushing the tyres. He knows how far he can go. We haven’t seen the peak yet.”

The F1 sensation is currently contracted at Red Bull until the end of the 2028 campaign. Despite previously airing reservations over the current schedule, he's been tipped to challenge Lewis Hamilton and Michael Schumacher's marker of seven world titles.

Fraser Watson